Denver is so cool! She reminds me of an English Springer Spaniel we used to have. He was also very high energy, to say the least! He would chase a ball for hours, and he LOVED the snow and any body of water! Thanks for the cute photo. May you always enjoy your beautiful Denver. ... View related article.
I had the same problem a few years ago. The foot doctor sold me Spenco orthotic arch supports --about $20) -- and gave me exercises to do. The best exercise was one in which I stood at the edge of a step and hung both heels down over the edge of the step. Hold it for about 1 minute, and you will actually feel the muscles in your calves relax.
I also had to have two cortisone shots, which are painful, but the whole treatment program worked! I still wear the over-the-counter arch supports, and when I feel the tiniest start of the problem again, I start doing the step exercise.
This is definitely worth seeing a foot doctor. The pain will inhibit your life, your job, everything. Start with the arch supports and exercise if you can't afford anything else.
Yes. We had almost exactly the same experience with our previous dog. He definitely was not himself when taking Rimadyl, so we took him off it and started him on Glucosamine and Condroiton for his mild arthritis. Not sure if this is an option with your dog, but I would talk to the vet to find out. ... View related article.
Stella, these instructions and photos are just marvelouos! I learned how to make these cute little origami boxes way back in college, and you have made the entire process easy for anyone to understand. I never thought of using them in this way -- thanks for a very creative and useful idea!
Heather, I have had a similar experience with a family dog. My heart goes out to you, as I know how painful this experience can be.
Keep Shorty away from children. Don't even consider allowing him to be anywhere near kids. Buy some baby gates and separate him as you need to.
Do not ever "get in his face." Aggressive dogs, especially, consider this an aggressive move, and they can react before you have a chance to think. I know a man who literally had his nose bit off by his own dog, when he tried to kiss the dog goodnight.
Some problems can be caused by genetics, and some can be caused by experiences, training or the lack of training, etc. Either way, you are in a tough position right now.
I have a couple of suggestions for where you can go for help.
The abbreviation "agbeh" stands for aggressive behavior. You'll have to join Yahoo and sign up for the group, but it's free. Read, read, read, and ask for advice.
Second, you really should call your vet and ask for a recommendation to a local certified trainer or behavior expert. You will have to pay for their services. OR, you can call a university and ask if they offer any free or low-cost services from an animal behaviorist.
I'm sure you already know the danger. Be very, very careful, and do NOT take chances, no matter what people tell you. Other people do not understand your dog. They might innocently bend down to pet him and get too close to his face, and suddenly get bitten.
If Shorty is not already neutered, you need to have that done. It MIGHT help with the aggression, but in any case, you do not want these genes to be passed on.
We eventually had to make the decision to have our dog put down. We had him for seven years, and the aggression was always present, but it became worse and worse. It was the hardest decision of my life, but I am glad I made it. Only you know what you should do in your case.
Debra, this is a charming article, with lots to enjoy and remember. While I may never take the time to actually whip up any of the recipes, I truly loved reading them.
My favorite soda fountain memory is the time my friend Sandy and I -- in our preteen years -- went to the local soda fountain in the drugstore. We thought we were big stuff, and decided it would be very funny to leave without paying! So after we drank our cherry Cokes, we got up and left, giggling the whole way like a couple of two-year-olds. We no more than walked out the door till we decided we'd better go back in and pay!
No one said a word. People were more polite back then. Nowadays, a childish trick like this would land a girl in the juvenile detention center!
It sounds as though you may have unwittingly encouraged this behavior by laughing or paying extra attention when he did it the first few times. You say "we have fun when he's like that," which indicates you have possibly smiled, made sounds back to Dakota, or just looked his way a lot more than you normally would. Dogs are pretty smart at getting attention, so he has probably increased the behavior. Who knows what might have caused it the first time -- he is doing it more and more, which is the problem.
Does he know the word "no" or "all done?" We use these to get our dog to stop a behavior.
At this point, you could simply ignore the behavior totally. That might help to decrease it.
Or, you could assign a verbal command to the behavior (such as "Dakota, sing!") and encourage it only when you give the command. This would eventually give you more control over it.
It will take a while to get this under control. My dog taught me ;-) a long time ago never to encourage any behavior I didn't want perpetuated.
There could be another cause. You also might try consulting a local dog trainer or dog behaviorist. If Dakota is not already obedience trained, it would help to take him to obedience classes.
Gladys, it's probably not a good idea to crush the pill, as 2oma said.
When we have to give a pill to our dog, we usually take a piece of hot dog and push the pill right into it. He gulps it right down.
Or sometimes I take a slice of thin lunch meat and wrap it closely around the pill, then carefully hand it to him.
Peanut butter would probably work too. Most dogs LOVE peanut butter.
Some people place the pill in the dog's mouth and then rub his throat to get him to swallow it. I never had any luck with that myself, but it's worth a try.
